Citation

Morrison K, Su S, Keck M, Beidel DC. J. Anxiety Disord. 2021; 77: e102339.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102339

PMID

33249315

Abstract

Given that first responders experience elevated rates of posttraumatic stress disorder and suicide, there is a need for evidence-based assessments and treatments to accurately assess, diagnose, and evaluate treatment outcome. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) in a sample of 133 firefighters/emergency medical technicians and police officers seeking treatment for PTSD. The results indicated that PCL-5 scores showed strong internal consistency and convergent and discriminant validity. Signal detection analyses indicated a good diagnostic accuracy and an optimal cutoff score of 41 for detecting PTSD. Consistent with recent studies, confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the anhedonia model of PTSD best fit the data. Overall, findings support use of the PCL-5 as a psychometrically sound measure of PTSD in individuals at high risk for exposure to trauma.

Language: en

Keywords

Checklist; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Emergency Responders; Factor Analysis, Statistical; First responders; Humans; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Psychometrics; PTSD; Reproducibility of Results; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Trauma